Sing along!

Barry Manilow sings it out!

Her name was Lola, she was a blogger
With Google ads on her page, her snark was all the rage
She would tumblr and post to YouTube
And while she tried to be a star, she wasn’t going far
Because just one time, she posted a musical rhyme
They shut her down and sued her pants off
How does this seem fair?

At the SOPA, SOPAcabana
The unfairest law north of Havana
At the SOPA, SOPAcabana
Discussing your passions could earn you a lashin’
With the SOPA….the internet goes dark

Stop SOPA and PIPA

SOPA is everywhere today, but you really need to take the time to learn about it and take some action.

What can you do?

Sign this petition!

Call your congressman!

If this passes, the damage to the internet would be staggering… even worse than having “Copacabana” playing in your head all day… )

Image by B Tal via Flickr

If you run a WordPress blog, drop everything and go check your blog security!  Wait… I mean drop everything except reading this blog.  Read, then drop.  Right, hope that is sorted out now.

The point is that there is apparently a security hole in WordPress that is A) a serious pain in the ass, and B) nobody is quite sure how it is spreading.  We were his with this on the Ignite Phoenix blog, and it took us the better part of a day to get back on our feet.

What It Is

We saw the problem when people visiting any of our pages were redirected to malware installation sites.  People using Chrome were getting errors immediately, and it was triggering anti-virus software from AVG to Norton’s.  After some research and help from Chuck Reynolds, we determined he had a variant of this Cloaking Hack. Originally just adding keywords to the infected site, the new version we had put the redirect into every page on our site.

We tried to scrub it from our files and database (yes, it messes with your database) but we kept getting re-infected.  We finally ended up having to move to a whole new host and reinstall everything from the ground up.  This was tricky since we could not reliably do an export from the previous site.

If you get it

Huge thanks to WP blogger’s cloaking hack post for getting us started down the road to repair. If you’re hit, I suggest starting here.  This bugger also hit Chris Pearson, the developer of the Thesis Theme, who made a great post on diagnosing and repairing the pharma hack (our problem was a variation of this).  The two of these are great resources and point to other places you can look to if you’re hit.

Secure your blog!

Do not want! Trust me, take the time and do what you can to avoid this.

• Remove any old plugins and themes you’re not using.  Some hosting providers install a ton of themese by default. Get rid of them.
• Use strong passwords. Don’t use something simple and easy to guess, or even common terms. This is good advice in general, but is is amazing how often it is ignored.
• Keep up to date on software versions. Don’t let your plugins in or core installation lag behind.
• Run a database backup plug-in, like WP DB Backup. You can have it back up your database and email it to you every day/week. We had to use one of our backups to restore to when we rebuilt the site.
• Follow these WordPress security tips if possible.  Some of these may be tricky for some people to do, but try all you can.  #4 should be simple for everyone, and an absolute must.
• There are other good posts on WordPress security if you want to get deeper, including some recommended WordPress security plug-ins.

Take the time to review your site(s) and tighten them down. If one good things comes from our meltdown, let it be that we can help stop it from happening to someone else.

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Through an odd series of events over the past two years I ended up involved in the crazy, passionate, chaotic world of Phoenix non-profit groups and events. I’ve been constantly impressed by the amazing things going on locally on an independent level, and constantly horrified at how difficult it is to get just the basic funding needed for great ideas to take off.  People work their butts off on a shoestring, while big investments often go towards established entities with so much overhead they can’t execute.  It’s maddening.

So when I was asked to be part of a board looking towards sharing grant money with locally based non-profits, I was torn. I needed another commitment like I need an extension to the Chunnel plowed through my head, but I liked the idea and figured I could put my network to good use and help get the word out.  Specifically, I want to try and reach a lot of the local, community-level groups that are online and actively leveraging all these social tools to try and move forward.  They’re groups that this grant process may not normally reach, and I want to get them into the application stack.

The grant program is called Sharing The Prize Seed, and the $25,000 “Sharing the Prize Seed” grant program is sponsored by the law firm of Jaburg & Wilk and the Jaburg & Wilk Foundation.  The “Sharing the Prize Seed” grant has at its root the story of a farmer whose crop won top awards every year. Upon receiving his annual honors, the farmer would distribute some of his prize seed with neighboring farmers to plant in their own fields. As the growing season progressed and his neighbors’ fields began to flourish, the wind would blow pollen from field to field, and the cross-pollination assured that all the crops were strong.

Qualified candidates will put forward a proposed community improvement project that requires at least two Valley of the Sun 501(c) 3 non-profit organizations to work together to improve the condition of Valley education, children, at-risk programs and other community-based efforts identified through the Sharing the Prize Seed Giving Areas.  Grant applications are being accepted until Monday, April 19, 2010.  Grant details and the grant application are available here.

Grant applications are being reviewed by the Sharing the Prize Seed Advisory Board, of which I’m a member.  The public will make the final decision through an online voting competition at sharingtheprizeseed.org of the ten finalists selected by the Advisory Board. The winning project proposal will be announced in May.

If you know a qualified Maricopa County 501(c) 3 non-profits organization please send them this info. You do not need to send them to me – just get them the application details and information.

Short Version

If you know great non-profits based in Maricopa county, send them this info and have them submit this application.

Please help me share, Tweet, Facebook, and (Latest Tool Thingy) this info as much as possible. Click the little tabs at the bottom of this post. I really want to spread this info as far as possible among online groups who may not have heard about this opportunity yet.

There are some amazing things going on in the Valley, and thank you for helping support them!

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I’m headed to South By Southwest this March, and one thing I learned last year was to be prepared for mass amounts of personal device power consumption. Not that AT&T is likely to have their towers actually serving up a usable signal when the hordes descend upon Austin, but it is conceivable I may find some wifi.  Thus I wanted to do some research on a device to take with to keep my electrons topped off.

My main use is a charger for my iPhone, but USB charging has some appeal. I was very impressed with the Tekken myPower that Steve Paine used last year. It is bulkier than the other options, but can charge a much wider range of devices. It’s also interesting to try and quickly compare these things, as some measure in terms of extra talk time, while others talk in terms of number of full recharges to a typical device.  I am sure I could dig into the tech specs around mAh to sort it out, but that’s more than the consumer-level review I wanted to make.

The chargers I looked at seemed to fall into three general categories: iPhone only, USB devices, and Full Batteries.  The USB device chargers work for a wider range of devices like Pre’s and Kindles, while the Full Batteries (like Tekkeon) charge laptops, netbooks, cameras, etc.  One sad discovery is that apparently Apple is not licensing its MagSafe technology connector for newer Macbooks, so I didn’t see any options at all for battery charging there. They should still work well for my camera, netbook, etc.

I’m not trying to build a comprehensive guide, but here is the list of device suggestions I received on Twitter. If I got anything wrong below, you can fill in any blanks, or there is a different option not listed here please let me know.

I haven’t made a decision yet, but will post again when I sort it out. And by way of disclaimer, I work at Sitewire, which does work for iGo, but I’m after the best bang for the buck so am looking at them all levelly.

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I started 2009 curious about community, by September I was being quoted about it in articles, but I left 2009 almost entirely convinced that “community” is a waste of time.

Not the people but the term itself. It has become a phantom banner that people wave to try and rally a cause – don’t we all care about the community?  Don’t we want to make it better?

Being in a community doesn’t inherently include a common goal or strong bond.  It most cases it is simply “a group of people with a common interest”, like a a hobby, a belief, or an idea. People who live in Phoenix may be in a community, but it’s their personal interactions that really connect them, not their geography. With everyone having a different perspective about the people and places around them, you get different forms of participation and the inevitable grumbling that there isn’t just enough community spirit/involvement/awareness. Some people want more parks, some people want more childrens’ programs, and some people just want to be left alone.

Community also doesn’t include motivation. In an artistic community, for example, some people may want to pursue technical perfection while others seek abstract expressions. It’s an amiable community until you try to set a direction for that whole group. Then people will start pushing the agenda towards their own views, and be shocked to find others pushing in a different direction. The connecting theme of the community has been exceeded.

Human nature complicates things further by assuming people who think like us in a few areas think like us in all areas. I ran into this with Ignite Phoenix when it got some wide local press. I was accused by some of betraying the community, when I was only looking to bring in new people and ideas. Attending Ignite Phoenix was the community theme, and I exceeded that limit and discovered there were a lot of wildly different opinions about what Ignite was and should be.

I’ve decided in my own local work to focus less on the “community” and more on simply doing things I’m excited about with people I respect. That will draw in people who want to participate, and save a whole lot of hopping about regarding what any group does or doesn’t want.

Community is an abstraction, and you really can’t grow, direct, or build an abstraction. “Community” is still great shorthand for a group of people, like “family”, but it isn’t an end into itself. Chase it too closely and you’ll lose the very people that make it up.  You need to focus on the people and their actions. Connect with them as individuals, not as abstractions, and realize no matter how hard you try there are some things they are just never going to do or be.

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Twitter now allows you to build lists of people that you think others should follow, and group them into categories. The idea is to allow others to subscribe to those lists as a single group, based on topic.  A few weeks back the most excellent Jay Baer posted on his Convince and Convert blog an idea to take all the lists you are a part of and make a tag cloud. It would give you a snapshot of your personal brand online.

Tag Cloud for @jmoriarty

It was both interesting to see the most common terms, and the oddball one-offs like “zzzzt” and “naked” (?!?). It’s also skewed towards the positive, which always does the ego nice but is what I’d expect from a tool for recommending others. Who is going to recommend someone for “bad hair” or “horrible puns”? I wasn’t surprised to see Phoenix in here so large as it’s not only where I live, but also because of my assorted hobbies out here.  I was glad to see Ignite Phoenix show up fairly small, and “writers” show up at all given my lack of 140+ character writing in the past few months. It was also reassuring to know I qualify as people… but then so does Soylent Green so maybe that was a gimme.

You Are Not Your Brand

I liked this exercise not because it provided some great insight – it is a small piece in an overall puzzle – but because it gave me a view from others eyes on how I am perceived.  When I first started poking around with the idea of “my brand” with my avatar photo shoot, I was genuinely confused by which pictures others felt best represented me. I learned that my perception of my brand was not entirely aligned with what others saw, and I could either roll with it or really work hard to create the image I felt I should have.

For me, the latter option felt too forced. As the great philosopher Popeye once declared, I Am What I Am*. I went with the avatar that the community chose and tried to understand the perception so I could take it as personal feedback. I’m a different person than I was when I started this project, but it has been through following my own path and plenty of trial and error – not trying to craft an ideal image to hang on myself.

The moral of the story is that in spite of your best efforts your image may not be what you think it is, and if you’re not actively listening to what others say you’re never going to really know.  Oh, and a bonus moral of don’t build your house out of straw or sticks. Go with bricks.

* Actually he said he “Yam What He Yam”, but I’m no Yam.

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After a most bizarre and educational few months, I’m clearing some time to get back to writing.  I’m working my way through my many blogs, starting with this one and Writing is Cake.  I just migrated this to a new host and cleaned up a lot of out of date plug ins. This post is primarily to test the RSS feed and other asundries.

Writing is Cake should be back on a thrice weekly schedule with myself and my other writing group members.  I have a post up tomorrow.

Feels good to clean out the cobwebs. Like hitting the gym after a long absence.  Not entirely sure what will need to get dropped from my dance card to make ongoing time for writing, but it will have to be something. One of my educations has been the folly of trying to do to much.

So for those of you still with this dusty feed in your list… hello there. How’z it hanging?

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Just back from attending my first South by Southwest, and it was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be, only better. In no particular order, here are the things I learned or had affirmed:

You can’t do it all – Heard that warning 100 times leading up to SXSW and it was absolutely true. Just pick what you’re going to do and commit. This is double true for the after hours events (a.k.a. parties).

(Some) Panels are Great – Choose wisely, and choose items you don’t know much about. If you’re an SEO expert in an SEO panel you’re likely to be bored. Go to learn something new, but don’t hesitate to bail if it isn’t good.

Best Part of Panels is Afterwards – Panels are more than good info, they’re a place to connect with people who share an interest. If you watch a panel later online, you miss the hallway discussion about it afterwards.

People trump Panels - However, if you have a chance to do something with a group of cool people at the same time as a panel you wanted to see, choose the people. The panel videos may not be as good as the real thing, but the connections you make with people in small groups are the best you’ll have.

Support your Hometown – Maybe this is just a personal thing, but I try to attend every panel where someone from Phoenix was speaking.

Meet your Friends, Hang with Strangers – Phoenix was awesomely represented at SXSW, and it was great running into the local crew everywhere, but I wanted to meet as many new people as I could. If you connect with someone new, hang out with them for a while, meet their friends, and work out from there.

No Fear - On a related note, don’t be shy to talk to people. Step outside your comfort zone if necessary, and just do it. I’m not a shy person so this isn’t a problem with me, but I met several people who were nervous or downright afraid to talk to someone they liked or admired online.¬† Of those who went up and said Hi, I don’t know anyone who was disappointed.

Parties are Overrated – Some were fun, some were not. Wasted a lot of time trying to chase the “best” ones. Better strategy would be to pick one or two, go with a group, and just hang out and enjoy it.

Work + Play = Ugh – I was doing some work related stuff while I was there, in addition to trying to enjoy the conference. Big mistake. One or the other would work, but doing both just got really frustrating. Decide why you’re going and don’t clutter it up.

Need More Electrons – Spent far too much time camping near outlets trying to get my device(s) powered back up. Next time will bring an external power pack that I can charge overnight and use to leech power from to keep my iPhone and other things alive.

Eat on the Run – There is great food in Austin, but I didn’t get to sample nearly enough of it. If I had a good group headed out for a meal I tried to join them, otherwise I ate something on the go. The restaurants were so packed that a meal could be a good 90 minutes (or more) out of a day that I already thought was too short.

BLACHOOOO! – I have a strong immune system and rarely get sick. I popped vitamins and tried to eat healthy. I still got just nasty sick on the way back. They call is “SXSW SARS” and it comes from so many people getting in one place and swapping their local bugs like trading cards. I collected the whole set. Prepare for this, and maybe take a day or two off work when you get back.

Wish I could have attended some of Film, and stayed for Music, but that likely would have killed me. Definitely worth the effort, and hope to be back agains next year.

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I’m headed to South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, for the first time this week, and am quite excited. I’ve been wanting to visit Austin for quite a while, and see SXSW on top of it. Of course, I cannot be expected to endure such complete geekery without proper food so did some asking around for good restaurant/food suggestions. I received three so far from Joe Johnston, a local foodie and restauranteer who is very familiar with the Austin area.

Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX.

Southside Market and Bar-B-Q in Elgin, TX. Told to try the hot sausage.

Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano, TX. I thought this might be too long of a drive, but looking at the Yelp reviews, I gotta check this out.

If you have any first hand accounts, add them in. I’ll post updates when I get to try them out!

Updated:

Via @Jose602: Casino El Camino on Sixth Street for burgers. Tamale House for bfast tacos, Maria’s Taco Xpress for good stuff all around.

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In my meandering exploration of this whole idea of personal branding, I decided it was past time to get some personal cards. “Business cards” doesn’t quite cover it, since I’m not exactly an “all business” kind of fellow. I was inspired (again) by Tomas Carrillo and his new Moo cards, but my creative talents are in a very different arena than what was needed here.

So I turned to the very talented Luz Galusha-Luna for some help. She is yet one more in the army of amazingly talented people I’ve met through Twitter and the related stomping grounds. We shot back and forth a few ideas, and the results are what your peepers are now feasting upon.

The different fonts for my first and last name were Luz’s idea, and intended to capture both the playful and professional parts of my personality. I asked for a nice, simple pattern on the front, and she came up with this wonderful, mildly-retro looking pattern… and in a gorgeous selection of colors.¬† I told you she was talented.

I struggled with what to put on the back, not wanting to turn it into a full resume. I went with my phone, email, and twitter account to cover the basics. My LinkedIn, Facebook, and websites are easy enough to find with a little help from Mr. Google.  Beyond that I just went with a few keywords: creative, technical, passionate, writer, developer, igniter, explorer, inventive, high in fiber.

Most of those are self-explanatory. “high in fiber” you can take in a number of ways, and I think they all apply.

I had the cards printed by Moo, and absolutely love them. Good quality and fairly inexpensive, so now I always have plenty to give away at Ignite, lunch, or whenever I make a new connection. If you’re thinking about making any cards up for yourself I highly recommend both Luz and Moo to make something that is distinctly you.

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